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by orphan_account



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: F/M, i really like judal bye, this isnt good i'm not good at writing you know that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-27
Updated: 2013-05-27
Packaged: 2017-12-13 04:19:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/819895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A weird one-shot thing, back in Judal's childhood. Judal has just been caught after running away from Kou. Generally speaking, bad things ensue. There's implied jugyoku in this but c'mon they are kids so there aint much. Maybe a lil bit of hurt/comfort mAYBE I HAVE NO IDea goodbye</p>
            </blockquote>





	Return

"...You're back, I see."  
Koutoku aimed his half-lidded eyes down at the child kneeling on the floor, arms and legs firmly gripped by the four guards standing around him. Koutoku averted his gaze to make eye contact with one of the guards. The guard nodded and reached down, sharply yanking on the child's long, trailing hair to force it to look up at the Emperor.  
"Apologise, brat," the guard said in a low, harsh voice.  
The child's lips quivered with defiance. It didn't say a word.  
Koutoku's eyes narrowed.  
"I said, apologise," the guard growls again, kicking the child in the stomach. Its posture falls a little.

  
"I apologise for trying to leave this shithole."

  
The tiny voice is hardly more than a whisper, audible only to the king. Koutoku's face doesn't change.  
"Properly!!" Another guard hisses, yanking on the child's hair again. "Louder! Show some fucking respect to your king!"  
The child's lip quivered again, its small frame shaking. There is a small, tense pause. He speaks again, louder and clearer.

"I apologise for trying to leave this shithole... _your majesty_."

One of the guards curse loudly and slap the child to the floor, about to strike it with the blunt end of his spear, but Koutoku raises his hand, a smile playing around the corners of his lips.  
"No, let him be. Escort him back to the others." Koutoku says airily, and dismisses the guards and the child with a wave of his hand.

  
* * *

  
Your name is Judal. You are ten years old and every second you spend in this place makes your skin crawl.  
Your expression remains composed and unyielding as you walk in the midst of the aggressive guards accompanying you, however you cannot repress the feeling of victory that you openly showed insolence to the king and survived.

  
Now that would be something to tell Kougyoku.

  
You remain silent and emotionless for the rest of the walk, ignoring the guards' occasional shoves, or taunts. And yet, you carefully analyse each of their faces and burn those faces into your mind. You do not forgive and you will not forget.

  
At last the walk is over. You are shoved through a door and guards grunt orders to the maids on the other side of the door before walking back the way they came. The maids move over to you and start walking you with them, fretting like mother hens, talking about the bruises and the dirt and the _oh no what if it leaves scars_.  
They take you to the darker rooms which are no longer made of paper but of stone and everything is adorned with fanciful gold lining. They take away the clothes from your back and shove you under boiling hot water and ignore you when you tell them that it's hurting you; you are scrubbed until it feels like all of your skin has come off and you don't have the energy to open your eyes anymore and you are sure that the water around you must be red with your blood. And then two of them start on your hair, pulling it and untangling it and cutting away bits that aren't salvagable here and there while another two put painful concoctions that sting on your face and dig into your skin with their nails and leave little red marks everywhere.

  
And then, at last, it's over and you're being pulled out and dried and more ointments and oils that sting are rubbed into your skin and hair. You're shoved back into the heavy Kou clothing full of brocades and heavy fabric and it's too hot, you feel like you can't move around. And finally, they paint your eyes and at last, after reminding you that you had to be at your class in an hour and you have a meeting tomorrow with the officials and remind you of each and every rule that you're under in this household, they have left you alone and you feel like a doll that was just cast in porcelain.


End file.
